This being one of the launch games for the Wii console, it was made with the primary reasons being to give buyers something to immediately play when they got one, and to utilize, and give a first-hand taste of, the unique aspects of the platform, on account of the technology. With that said, it is definitely entertaining. As the very first thing, you create a Mii(and that is not solely for this particular title, I think originally, they meant them to go for most releases, and then later, the selection was expanded), which is the mental projection of your digital self. The idea is to make it look like you, but you are not at all limited to that, and it seems like you can create as many as you'd like. You can customize the appearance to a great extent, with a scaling bar for height and one for... ahem... width, and multiple choices for head shape, nose, glasses or not(those last three, you can even move up and down), hair, facial features(red cheeks, freckles, etc.), and the color of the eyes, skin and the clothes it wears(what exactly they are will vary on what you are doing). That broad a spectrum allows for countless ones that are nothing alike. At this point, control wasn't perfectly smoothed out, and the VG's did get better from here on. The Wii-Mote's sensitivity is used well(not as excellently as in Wii Fit, mind you), and this goes about as far as it can in having your avatar respond to the movements you make with it. A lot(not all) of the stuff actually feels a lot like doing it for real. You can play this with friends, and there is definitely quite a few hours in this(with that said, it won't take you very long to try everything once). After a while of playing, this will remind you to take a break, with a hilarious image that *really* says "there is a world outside of this, you know... Fresh air? Remember that? Turn me off, just for a little bit... geez". Anyway, I'll get to what you're reading this for, if you don't already know; the sports featured. Tennis(that you can decide to play against *yourself*, with four people on the court, all controlled by you!), Baseball, Bowling(extra points to the team behind this for the fact that twisting your wrist will curve the path of the ball), Golf(with a handful of clubs closely based upon the ones used) and Boxing. Apart from a straight game of any of the aforementioned five groups, there is also a Fitness one, where you get a Physical Age, flattering or not, from how well you do, and then there are three training modes for each(for a total of fifteen activities). You can practice things like aim and force. The mitt thing has you attempting to hit those and not the poor guy holding them, and though I know it is probably absolutely terrible of me, I can't keep from laughing when I hear the result of, well, not managing to miss the sorry bloke. You can earn medals, and there are different skill levels for some of them, so this can be worth it for people who have never set foot on a court, an alley, or in the ring, as well as those who have, well, experience. Maybe not the pros. Everything you do is stored in one of the memory storage units. Let's return to the audio; it's awesome, and so versatile that it really makes the whole experience come to life. The music is excellent and fits like a glove. And on the subject of things that are tailor-made, how about the audience reactions? The "ohhh" as the ball approaches the hole, and either an "ahhh" if it doesn't go in, or clapping if it does. All of the sound effects are crisp and spot-on, from the crack of the bat to the cheering. This mimics your average sportscast nicely, and the tone is in general similar to reality, if lighter. Such as the way characters in this run the same way as Canadians on South Park. And the rather helpful graphs, arrows and exact measurements. The graphics are marvelous, if not as strong as the other Next Generation machines. Things have pretty accurate proportions and are not terribly stylized. There is not a ton of humor in this, save for the comical violence that I made mention of earlier in this review. The instant replays are cool and can aid you in improving your abilities at this, and the slow-motion is cool without being flashy(in spite of the fact that it almost gets Matrixy here and there). To my knowledge, there are no bugs or glitches in this; I certainly have not found any. I have yet to try the sequel to this... you know, "Resort". However, I can imagine that it offers much more of what this has, and I would venture a guess that it's superior in other areas. Depending on when and/or where you purchased your Wii, perhaps either of them came or does come with it. So you may already own it; if not, it can't be that expensive. This is for any and every fan of the white(or now, potentially black, if that term is still PC) little spreader of joy, standing upright in homes across the globe. In countries where us commoners can afford it, anyway. And with a large enough living room with a television. Hey, there's an incentive to keep your room nice and tidy, huh? If there are things on the floor, you won't have enough space to play this or the other ones. My god... the Japanese are brilliant. They have solved a problem as old as the notion of child-hood itself. Someone, anyone, get them to fix teenagers next. There is no time to waste! Uhm... I digress, sorry. I recommend this to anyone who would like to give it a shot. 8/10
Review of Wii Sports
